Another parcel... Spring Swap.

It's been very exciting here with parcels arriving. This one was from my Spring Swap partner Melinda. Ooh, lots of tissues paper wrapping...





And inside one package was a wonderful note book and cover. ( Melinda must have heard me thinking that I needed to have something like this for beside my laptop to jot down notes.)

And there was a cute tin filled with fat quarters and squares. I've got a few ideas here already but I haven't actually made any final decisions.

And check out this fabulous roomy bag with lots of pizazz. It's one of those mesh bags which I've spotted around and loved.

So if you are going to the Brisbane Stitches and Craft show at the end of this month and you see this bag, no doubt it will have me attached to it. Do you think I can fill it?

Valentine's Swap...

I have an apology to make to Jill (no Blog) who was my partner in a Valentine's swap run by Dandelionquilts. I promised Jill that I would post photos on my blog and show everyone. Somehow though the photos were deleted from my camera and didn't quite make it to the blog. So I took some more today and have them here to show. I am so sorry, Jill, that this is so late.
Look at all this lovely sewing love...
In the left corner you can see a page of photos. Jill made a photo collage of the area she lives in, her sewing room and some of her projects. What a great idea! I wish my sewing room looked like hers! Jill, I think you need a blog to show all these beautiful things off.

Here's a cute wall hanging...

And some lovely things for the table... Thank you so much Jill. I loved everything.

and on the subject of the Valentine's swap here's what I sent to Maria .

Sorry that this has taken so long...

Variations on an Easter theme...

2008...
2009...

When you have a good Easter hat design all you need to do is adapt it from

one year to the next.

Easter Swap received...

Here's the parcel I received in the Easter Swap... It was from Shari on the other side of Australia. Look at those lovely Easter ribbons !

And what a great idea - sweet fabrics hidden inside matching eggs.

And the cutest of all was the little house with bunnies,

and look who is peeking out...



There were cookie cutters too but somehow they didn't get into the photos. Thank you so much Shari. I love it. Happy Easter.

Easter Swap...

A few months back I signed up for an Easter Swap run by Julie. The person I was to send to was Vanessa. I wasn't quite sure what to send but I found this cute Easter fabric and had to use it. I just love those bunnies. ( The pattern was from Happy Hour by Atkinson Designs and is one I will be using again)

And speaking of cute bunnies...


it can be found on this..

The button is a Giggle Button and is so cute I couldn't resist using it for an Easter bag.

I hope you enjoy everything Vanessa.

Charm Square Bolster Cushion...

My friend Kathy, who does yoga with me, was having a birthday. I had actually planned this for last year's birthday but didn't get it done ( why isn't that a surprise?) So I decided to get it done for this year.

So to make one here's what I did...

Sew 20 charm squares together ( 4 x 5). This will vary depending on the size of the cushion you want to make, or you can cut them to size later. The insert I used was 51cm X 51cm which would be around 20 inches X 20 inches.


Sew into a tube and hem the ends...

I left a small opening in my seam so I could thread the ribbon through...

Now here's a hint..

I bought a square cushion insert because it was bigger than the bolster insert the shop had. All you have to do is leave it rolled up - But it does help to leave the plastic on at first to help you get the cover on. You can see it is a bit of a tight fit, which is good to make the cushion firm but this helps get the cover on more easily. It still is a bit tricky getting the plastic off but I cut it when I was half way in and pulled it out that way.

Tighten the ribbons at the end and tie up tight.

The end result - one bolster cushion.

In my case the next thing I did was hand it to Kathy as she walked in the door right at the moment of completion, so I couldn't hide it. I suppose you could say it saved me wrapping it.

She took it to yoga the next week and I may have orders - arrgh...


Note : this method really doesn't allow for regular removing and washing as the seams are not ended off inside and I tied the ribbon with knots first. It could be made to do so though with a bit more lining and preparation.